After two little songs, it was her turn. Excluding the break, about half an hour later, Qinglian became inexplicably nervous. Although she had already practiced this piece of music extremely skillfully, she still practiced it secretly, for fear that it would I forgot the lyrics and the tune when I got into the hall.
Qinglian was practicing secretly in the main room. The door was suddenly pushed open and Qinglian stood up suddenly. Was it her turn so soon?
The visitor was an uninvited guest, Juan'er. Qinglian suddenly became timid: "Sister Juan'er, why are you here?"
After all, what happened the day before yesterday still seemed like it had just happened. Mrs. Lan Ning was so angry that she was kicked out of the courtyard and threatened that she would not be allowed to set foot in the courtyard from now on. For this reason, Qinglian secretly cried for a whole day. Thinking of this, At this moment, my heart still aches.
Juan'er looked at Qinglian and said "hum", "ungrateful thing."
Qinglian felt guilty and said: "Sister Juan'er, I'm sorry that day. Madam Lan Ning didn't want to listen to my explanation, nor did she want to believe me. I'm really..."
"Who will believe you!" Juan'er said, putting the things on the table.
Only then did Qinglian realize that Juaner was here to deliver something. On the table was a brand new set of clothes made of fine silk and satin, with luxurious hairpins and beads on the top of the clothes.
"This...Ms. Lan Ning..." Qinglian suddenly felt in a mess. She had betrayed Mrs. Lan Ning's trust and done something wrong to her. Ms. Lan Ning was still so kind to her.
Juan'er said, "Don't misunderstand me. The lady promised you that she will never break her promise." After saying that, she left coldly.
Qinglian looked at the things on the table in a daze. After a while, she put on new clothes and put on luxurious hairpins. She looked at herself in the mirror and looked a bit charming. She never thought that she could be so beautiful.
Time passed, and finally it was Qinglian's turn to come to the court. Qinglian looked calm on the outside, but no one knew how nervous she was inside.
Some famous actresses had already taken their places in the dark and did not immediately go back to their rooms to rest. There were newcomers in the courtyard. They always liked to watch the excitement and sometimes made bets as a private pastime.
Strictly speaking, this is not Qinglian's first time on stage. She sang on the stage last time, and her singing was a mess, which made the guests make fun of her.
Miao's mother planned to let Qinglian become a maid, but Qinglian would rather die than obey. For this reason, Miao's mother beat and scolded Qinglian and locked her up. This incident caused an uproar in the courtyard, and people Everybody knows.
With such a topical person, how can these famous brothel actresses who are looking for entertainment not gamble.
"Guess whether Qinglian can finish singing a song this time?"
"I think the song should be able to be sung, and I'm not a layman, but how good is it? Will it make people laugh like last time, haha..."
"What kind of bet?"
"Hee... Then I bet that after she finishes singing today, my mother will not let her go to the hall again. I bet that after she finishes singing today, she will have no choice but to accept her fate as a maid. Which one of you wants to change the maid?"
"Xiu Qin, with your gambling method, who would bet with you? No, no, no, you can't bet like this."
"Don't tell me, I met Qinglian a few days ago and saw how confident she looked. Maybe you will be impressed today."
"Zhuqiu, why are you here to bluff people? It's less than a month apart. How far can her skills improve? In a place like a brothel, you don't have to have a good face to get through. Besides, Qinglian... Nizi is not very pretty either.”
"You'd better tell me how to bet, she will be on stage soon."
"Uh... let's bet that she will sing a few mistakes in a while."
"It's fair to Zhuzhu. This is a very good bet. Let me start by saying that I bet that she sang all the wrong songs."
"Five places."
"Two places."
"Three places."
…
It seems that these famous actors still underestimate Qinglian.
"I'm coming."
"Hey... Qinglian is very different today. Her clothes are all new. She seems to be well prepared."
"Even the beaded hairpin she is wearing is dazzling... isn't that the beaded hairpin that Mrs. Lan Ning usually wears? How come she is wearing it on Qinglian's head!"
"No wonder I saw that she was very confident a few days ago. It turns out that Ms. Lanning is behind her. I think you are in danger!"
"Humph, it doesn't matter if Mrs. Lan Ning supports me. In the end, I have to rely on myself. If I can't sing the song well, it's useless for anyone to support me!"
"Stop talking, she's up."
Qinglian stood timidly in the middle of the performance stage, secretly telling herself not to be nervous and just practice music as usual.
Miao's mother stood next to Qinglian and said loudly: "Today is the first time that Qinglian, the young singer of our hospital, sings in the hall. If there are any mistakes or bad singing, please don't be too harsh, please. Forgive me."
Someone in the audience recognized Qinglian and shouted loudly: "She didn't sing once last time, and her singing was a mess. Mother Miao, aren't there any people in Yingyuan this time? You just use small roles to make up for the numbers, right?" Think of us as roughnecks who don’t understand appreciation."
Miao's mother smiled and said: "Young Master Song is joking. Who is not Xiaoling? I would like to ask Mr. Song to give this little lady Qinglian a chance."
Mr. Song said: "What should we do if we don't sing well again? It would be a small thing to hurt our hearts, but it would be a big thing to smash the sign back to Yingyuan. But since Mother Miao said so, she must give the opportunity, but I have a request."
Qinglian's heart tightened when she heard this, and she became even more nervous. Her hands and palms were covered with sweat.
Miao's mother smiled apologetically and said, "So Mr. Song, what do you say?"
Mr. Song said calmly: "If this young singer doesn't sing well, how about asking Ms. Lan Ning to sing a song to make up for it?"
As soon as these words came out, the audience immediately cheered, "Okay! It's settled!"
Miao's mother immediately looked embarrassed. What is Lan Ning's identity? She is a courtesan from Suzhou. The other famous actresses who returned to Yingyuan combined are not as good as Lan Ning alone.
How could someone with such a status just come out and sing a song casually? Even if she was willing, Lan Ning might not be willing to do it. She just refused politely and said: "Young Master Song is joking. Madam Lan Ning has a noble status, how can she show up casually?"
"Mother Miao, it's meaningless for you to say that. We're not here just to flatter Mrs. Lan Ning. Just tell us who else can take advantage of you this time in Yingyuan besides Mrs. Lan Ning."
Miao's mother smiled and said: "Song Gongzi said this, Xiuqin, Zhuqiu, Zhuzhu and the others are good."
The people Miao's mother mentioned were all the waiters who returned to Yingyuan. Of course, they were very different from Lan Ning. People tend to focus on the most dazzling person.
"If Mother Miao says so, if the song is not sung well today, don't blame us for not coming to support it in the future."
"Young masters, please say goodbye."
"The words have been left here. Mother Miao, can you take care of it?"
Miao's mother had no choice but to flatter her: "Okay, okay, if Qinglian can't sing well, I'll go talk to Madam Lan Ning later, gentlemen, please listen to the music first." But there was room for maneuver in her words.
***The author has something to say***
It is more difficult to hold back and write than to let go. In the Suzhou chapter, July also held back and wrote more carefully, because we need to have a sense of belonging. No matter what mission we take on in the future, there will eventually be a place of home waiting for us.
